Les Bowen

STAFF WRITER

Les Bowen has covered the Eagles since 2002. Before that, he covered the Flyers for 13 years. He came to the Daily News from the Charlotte Observer in May 1983, just as the Sixers were winning the NBA championship. He thought, "Gosh, this sort of thing must happen all the time here."

Andy Reid seemed to want to calm the waters in his day-after news conference, following the Eagles' 16-14 loss at Pittsburgh Sunday.

Reid's message was that the 3-2 Eagles are generally playing well, that they have a couple of fundamental things they need to fix, but they are on the right path.

"We're the second-lowest-scoring team in the National Football League right now" because of turnovers, Reid said. "We've got to make sure we fix that ... We've done well with the interception part of it, we're doing a better job with the protection part of it, and the decision-making part of it, [now] we've got to take care of the football. Then, we've got to be able to get off the field on that last [Steelers] drive."

Reid noted that defensively, even though the Eagles' sack numbers are way down, so are their points allowed. He said teams are playing more conservatively, keeping in extra blockers, running shorter, quicker routes, because of the Birds' pressure.

Reid was asked about some of quarterback Michael Vick's statements following the game. Vick said he knows he has to stop fumbling, but he also repeated his familiar view that turnovers are part of the game, and even said that everything happens for a reason, indicating somehow that God or fate might cause him to give the ball away.

Reid said he was pretty sure Vick was asked about fumbling more than a few times Sunday. He did not seemed worried about the quarterback's mindset: "Nobody is more competitive than this guy. He knows he can't fumble...He's going to get that right."

Reid lauded "the grit of this football team, the toughness."

"We haven't been stopped as much as we've stopped ourselves," he said.

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The only reported injuries from Sunday were Mychal Kendricks' ankle and Bryce Brown's shoulder. Both players should practice Wednesday, Andy Reid said.